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Wrong on that aspect. Highborne were Night Elven nobility. It's entirely possible to RP as a still-living Highborne Night Elven noble.

Heck, isn't that who the playable Night Elf mages are supposed to be?

If you're a Night Elf, goblin, gnome, orc, tauren, troll, or draenei, I hope you are laughed at and mocked.

They don't have royalty ot nobility.

Otherwise, as above. I've RPed characters of noble blood but they were noble in their own memory foremost and held absolutely no power, land, and little gold.

I prefer wealthy landowners. You're not a noble but pretty close.

Does a Goblin Trade Prince/Princess tug your collar?

Yes, it matters of relationship, and the race's lore and royalty "rules".
Like for Goblins:
The so called "heir" must be richer than the current Goblin Trade Prince/Princess. I don't know if there's a Goblin Trade "Queen" or "King", but as long as you're filthy rich as hell, you can probably get away with calling yourself a Trade "Queen/King".
Make sure you WoW Wiki some Royalty Rules between races, first. Or else you'll be considered a RP Troll, or a Rulebreaker.

Wrong on that aspect. Highborne were Night Elven nobility. It's entirely possible to RP as a still-living Highborne Night Elven noble.

Heck, isn't that who the playable Night Elf mages are supposed to be?

To some extent. They are also "normal" Night Elves who are learning to wield the Arcane for the first time in thousands of years. But you could get away with being an ancient Highborne.

In regards to the Night Elves/Highborne, the Highborne have returned, so yes, you can play a noble Elf. There are also, I'm sure some Night Elves that will show interest and learn the arcane arts. Having said that, there is no doubt (at least among the more venerable/ancient Kaldorei) going to be prejudice in regards to them returning. And those Kaldorei won't treat the Highborne (or their new students) in the manner they will be (possibly) & were accustom too.

Illyaina is among the Highborne that have returned & she still considers herself a noble (by Night Elf past standards) & acts as such. She could care less what the "common" Night Elves think in "this day and age"

This question is -very- difficult to answer properly. Mind you, I've been roleplaying all of my adult life, and most of my childhood, and I've been very experienced in not stepping on other people's toes when I do what I do.

I created a family, used an in-game region and explained that the region in-game was smaller than it is in actual lore, (because it is.)

Gainan is a Baron, he owned land, he had lots of gold. Absolutely nobody had a problem with my roleplaying because I wasn't a godmodding "I AM A NOBLE YOU MUST RESPECT ME" jerkbag who demanded to be treated special because I wanted to make a character who was special.

My general rule for people who are roleplaying, if you have a question about it, don't do it. It isn't because I want to discourage people from doing things, it's because you already know that you aren't able to pull it off without justification.

"Becoming" Gainan wasn't something that happened overnight, either. I had to get the main group who I roleplayed with to understand my personal lore, it was a project.

Roleplaying as a noble is -NOT FOR EVERYONE- and I cannot stress that enough.

The best piece of advice I've ever gotten about roleplaying is really simple, and it is something that everyone should strive for,

"The best roleplayers play nobodies."

Honestly, do you -need- your character to be a noble? I know, this sounds hypocritical, but, there's a reason you don't see Gainan walking around Stormwind anymore. I'm not saying nobody should play them, I'm just saying everybody shouldn't play nobles.

That being said, I hope you find something you enjoy doing, and I hope it doesn't come at other people's expense.

I think most races have nobility or an "upper class" of some kind. I do have a few blood elf nobles, but they're from minor houses and not really important in the sense that people would go out of their way to cater to them. That doesn't mean you can't think you're more important than you really are. For example my blood elf mage is a noble, but her house was pretty well annihilated during the scourge invasion. She has "illusions" of restoring her house to glory, and thinks that she's more important than she really is. This attitude is usually met with disdain and mockery, which is fine with me. I wanted to role play at least one stereotypical noble. She might outgrow that eventually. It depends on the role play she ends up involved in.

It can be done. Just take note that your character will probably not be very popular if they try to order people around.

A bit of clarification may be useful here.

The Highborne were the noble magic-using class of the Pre-Sundering Kaldorei empire ruled by Azshara, her personal favorite caste since she was one herself. Two events changed things radically, First was he invasion of the Burning Legion in which most of the Highbourne sided with Azshara and actively aided the demonic hordes against their own kind.

This fact wasn't forgotten nor was the fact that the Highborne even prior to the invasion treated the rest of the Kaldorei population with an increasing measure of decadence and contempt.

The second factor originated after the Illidan's Betrayal and Malfurion's subsequent ban on arcane magic. The remainder of the Highborne who hadn't gone Naga, or sealed themselves up in Dire Maul decided that they would try to get Malfurion to lift his ban on arcane magic by unleashing a plague which they would later *cure*. This plan .... didn't work well. It resulted in thier banishment from Kalimdor which was the alternative to the capital punishment their crime had actually earned.

So yes, a returning Highborne can put on all the airs they might wish. Those who saw the Sentinel's reaction to the emissary in the fading days of Wrath though can get the idea that the rest of the Kaldorei however will tell them just where they can stick it. And if they get stupidly idiotic about pressing the matter, they just might provoke a violent response.

So technically the term would be disenfranchised nobility, if one must press the term. The smarter wiser Highborne would avoid the issue entirely.

It also seems that Night Elf mages are actually young students of the Kaldorei learning from these ancient masters. Who frequently remind them that. "The Secrets of the Highborne are forever closed to you."

12/25/2010 1:48 AMPosted by Gainan

"The best roleplayers play nobodies."

Gainan makes an excellent point here. Whether a noble or commoner it's who your character is not what your character is that will make them and their story stand out. If you do decide to play a noble just be aware of the lore & those around you. It can be done tastefully and within the bounds of the game. Just remember in the end it'll be the little things, mannerism, quirks, etc that'll make or break the reality you're trying to create.

I use to RP with Gainan "way back when" and even though I knew he was a noble it was the character's personality & traits that kept me interested (and made me laugh, a lot) in role playing with him.

I encourage you to explore all possiblities within the lore just be certain to use knowledge and wisdom in your choices. And most of all enjoy it. In the end you'll know what feels right and doesn't.

another thing to remember is that nobles do have a job to do. They're typically overseers or leaders, and the higher up the ladder of royalty, the less likely the noble would be inclined to adventure. This is why Kings dont run around the country side tending to every little detail, they delegate.

Minor Nobles I could except, as Nobility has its high and lower ends. Higher ends being a step down from Royalty (King, Queen, Prince, Princess, etc), with lower ends holding an itty bitty place in court and that's about it. Being a non important member of a non important noble house only gets you so far above a commoner (which is not that much at all).

Also for clarification on behalf of the Goblins. A Trade Prince isn't royalty by any means. It is the goblin with the most moolah and the most estate to his/her name. I assume the title is also gender neutral as well, meaning a female Trade Prince. Bloodlines don't mean anything on Kezan or anywhere else with goblins, its about who has the most coinage, so to speak. Hell there could be a new Tarde Prince every week, depending on who makes the most money, dishonorably or otherwise.

Also, getting married does not make you a Trade King, the "Prince" in the name doesn't imply royalty, but it does imply who's boss.

11/30/2010 8:56 PMPosted by Kayliya

What's everyones thoughts on this? Is it acceptable to insert your character into one of the major royal lines or even create your own based from a castle or a zone? I'm curious because I've been trying to develop a character and I'd like to make them royal but I am hesitant due to it being possibly irritating and unable to maintain with other characters.

I personally think as long as you don't go onto pre exsisting nobility, lore characters, or royalty you should be fine. I personally role play my paladin as part of a medium sized noble family.

I use to RP with Gainan "way back when" and even though I knew he was a noble it was the character's personality & traits that kept me interested (and made me laugh, a lot) in role playing with him.

Agree 100% with this. Where you were born, who your parents were, your social status: these have to do with the plot and story of the character--they are not traits. Your character's traits--who they are is what makes people like or dislike them. :)

Nobility is fine. I RP as some myself.

if any1 wants to start a group to rp ill do it

OK...how about this....my father was a Lord in Lordaeron before it was destoyed and I still claim the title and have vowed to restore the honor of my "house." I know "House Blackburn" sounds very ASOIAF, but that is the only reference in my story. The rest of my RP is very WOW-y.

Eh, for Draenei, there isn't really nobility, but there's a very obvious social order. You're vindicators, exarchs, priestess, etc. have a lot more power than say, your average, merchant draenei.


I'd say that's as close to nobility you're going to get when it comes to space goats.

12/01/2010 10:36 AMPosted by Lecter

We can't all have killed Ragnaros...

Actually, he's an eternal... He can't really be killed by anything a player does right now.
He can have the tar beaten out of him several times. Then again, I'm splitting hairs.

HE was killed. We defeated him in his own realm. Ragnaros and Al'akir are dead forever.

Someone will rise to take their place.